[Orochimaru's Laboratory]
"Cut!", Orochimaru gave the order.
The major arteries around Nagato's heart were simultaneously severed by Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Nono.
Nagato's eyes bulged, immense terror crashing down over him.
In his mind, images began flashing without end, one scene after another of the memories buried deepest.
His parents bringing him onto the battlefield, only to be inexplicably killed by Konoha ninja.
He began to wander, then met Konan, Yahiko, and other companions.
Later, he encountered Teacher Jiraiya, spending a few unforgettable years together.
Jiraiya had also led them into the doorway of the ninja world.
After that, Jiraiya left, and the three of them made their grand vow. Wanting peace for the shinobi world.
But they were too young, too naive, leading to Yahiko's death at the hands of conspiracy.
And Nagato himself had been manipulated.
Nagato's thoughts drifted further and further, but his vision only grew darker.
Just as Nagato was at the brink of the revolving lantern of his life, Rengoku fixed his gaze tightly on Nagato's heart.
Deprived of blood flow, with its nerves severed, the heart only twitched a few times before ceasing to move, its color quickly draining.
Once the heart became inactive, finally, a curse mark emerged upon it.
Unable to draw Nagato's life force, the mark twisted upon itself.
Rengoku's hands were quick. He unleashed sealing arts, pressing directly onto the heart.
The sealing sigil overlaid the curse mark, which swiftly dissolved into black smoke, vanishing into the air.
By now, Nagato's mind was swallowed by complete darkness. He had lost all consciousness, hearing only faint sounds around him.
"Restore!"
At Orochimaru's command, the three of them simultaneously restored the blood flow and neural connections to the heart.
Kasui immediately shoved her hand into Nagato's mouth.
Orochimaru's hands danced across the heart, moving with practiced precision.
Then, with a sudden burst of chakra, an electric arc struck the heart.
The heart contracted once, then began to beat again.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
On the nearby monitor appeared Nagato's first heartbeat after "death."
Orochimaru let out a breath and closed up the chest incision.
Unnoticed, even his forehead had begun to bead with sweat.
Outside, Konan, who had watched everything from beginning to end, collapsed into a chair.
Seeing Nagato's chest opened, "killed", that kind of psychological pressure was immense.
But Orochimaru glanced at Rengoku beside him and was surprised to see his expression still calm.
At this moment, Orochimaru regarded Rengoku more highly, "You truly weren't worried Nagato might die."
Rengoku blinked, then looked at Orochimaru with a trusting gaze, "If you're the one doing it, I can rest easy."
Orochimaru's lips curled faintly, clearly pleased.
But he didn't speak further. Though the curse seal on Nagato's heart had been removed, the next step was most important.
In the endless dark, Nagato suddenly glimpsed a flicker of light.
The light grew larger, Nagato's eyes snapped open.
The wound on his chest healed visibly under Kasui's treatment.
Nagato slowly sat up. Though still thin and gaunt, his complexion was far better than before.
"Hah…", He slowly exhaled.
Releasing Kasui's hand, he nodded to her, "Thank you."
Kasui smiled. Being able to help this clansman also made her feel very happy.
Orochimaru was drawing Nagato's blood for testing.
Then his eyes suddenly flashed with startling brightness.
"Interesting. There are signs of genetic fusion within your clan's bloodline."
"Nagato, from now on, your recovery will rely entirely on Kasui's ability to restore your life force."
"This will bring your bloodline even closer together."
Nagato glanced at Kasui, hesitant. After all, he knew how enormous the deficit in his life force was.
Wouldn't Kasui be sucked dry into a husk?
As though reading his thoughts, Orochimaru reminded him, "We have plenty of Elixir of Life for Kasui's recovery, so you needn't worry."
Hearing this, Nagato no longer refused.
"Sorry to trouble you."
Kasui shook her head and pointed to her carotid artery, the spot on her neck.
"Bite here, it restores faster."
Nagato hesitated, then sank his teeth into Kasui's neck.
"Mm…", Kasui let out a muffled cry, immense pain washing over her.
It felt as if her body's life energy was being sucked into a black hole.
Even the color of her hair began fading.
Kabuto pulled out the IV that had been delivering Elixir of Life to Nagato, replaced the needle, and immediately stuck it into Kasui.
With the Elixir supplementing her, Kasui's body began to recover right away.
Orochimaru and Nono connected both Kasui and Nagato to monitoring equipment.
They discovered Nagato's absorption speed was even faster than Kasui's replenishment.
"Switch from diluted Elixir to the pure liquid," Orochimaru, never taking his eyes off the data, ordered Kabuto.
Kabuto quickly prepared it and inserted the new line.
When the flow rate between the two sides balanced, Orochimaru finally nodded.
Rengoku watched with his own eyes as Nagato's complexion gradually returned.
Though his body didn't immediately plump up, he was no longer that skeletal zombie.
Nagato's hair regained luster, his sunken cheeks filled out with flesh.
At that moment, Nagato suddenly furrowed his brows and released Kasui.
Her whole body went limp. If not for Nagato catching her, she would have collapsed to the ground.
She was drenched as if pulled from water, completely devoid of strength.
Having one's life force drained was an excruciating thing, like watching oneself weaken and fade away.
But Kasui was still being healed by the Elixir of Life.
Her feeling was like riding a rollercoaster.
Seeing Nagato's bloodline fusion progress, Orochimaru asked in puzzlement, "Why did you stop? Your life force hasn't yet reached its peak."
Nagato pointed to his eyes, "I feel the Rinnegan being nourished by my body, steadily advancing."
Orochimaru's brows knit slightly, "Hm, that is indeed a problem."
"Then let's stop here for now. Get used to your body."
"We'll discuss the rest later."
Nagato felt the strength in his legs, and couldn't help but leap off the bed.
How many years it has been, finally, he could stand on his own power.
He bowed earnestly to Kasui, Orochimaru, Kabuto, Nono, and Rengoku.
"Thank you, everyone!"
Konan, realizing Nagato's body had truly recovered, rushed forward and embraced him tightly.
Her eyes filled with tears, "Wonderful… this is wonderful."
Nagato patted her back gently, "I made you worry."
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